Earth X Volume 2: Universe X Volume 1 Tpb

I bought both volumes of Universe X without knowing Earth X was the first part of the story and proceeded to read them the second I got back from the store. I absolutely loved them. I imagine reading Earth X first would have illuminated certain areas of the story but everything was explained very well and I thought the story overall was great. I have always liked alternate reality comics, such as "What If".....Peter Parker hadn't gotten bitten by the spider?......Germany used the super soldier formula first?....etc.etc. So when I saw a huge graphic novel written and drawn by Ross and Krueger I had to get it.While Universe X mentions in passing what happened to some of the more mainstream hero's and villians in Earth X so you don't get lost, I have to go out tomorrow and buy it to get a more detailed account. I recommend this highly! This series is wonderfully drawn and extremely well told. I found it to be entertaining and very enlightening as Krueger's story was at times very philisophical.Also, since this story is very complex, a high level of knowledge of the Marvel Universe and it's characters is recommended.

Actually it's probably misleading to call this a sequel; its not so much an all-new adventure as it is "Act II". The same trials and tribulations that took place in Earth X are still going on, its just now there are different players and goals. With Earth X, you probably thought every dark corner of Marvel Lore had been fully plumbed. You were wrong, as Ross and co, go even farther, bringing back lotsa characters the average Marvel zombie might have long forgotten (Gargoyle! The Micronauts!) Like Earth X, Universe X (and this review applies to both volumes) is indispensible and you'll go back to it over and over again. There are however two problems with the book: the big one being the artwork. It's not bad but a project like this deserves more majesty--something along the lines of what Ross did in Marvels. If painted pages would have been too costly, you would have liked to see some computer enhanced imagery as is so common today. You might have though Marvel would take a page from DC's books --when they've got a big deal story they get Ross the painter or George Perez or someone along those lines. But the art here is strictly run-of-the-mill; it's to the story's credit that it can rise above. I had the same complaint with Earth X, but at least there the drab, grim art complemented the story. Here, the art is too 'comic-booky'. The only part where this is good is in the Spider-Man 'flash-forward' scenes. (you'll see what I mean) The other problem is the lack of reference material. If you don't own the complete run of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, or havent been reading Marvel comics for at least 20 years you could be hopelessly lost trying to make heads or tales out of this story. I'm grateful that they didn't stick 90 mutants in this epic, and also for the many in-jokes and sight gags, but some of the more obscure people, places and things deserve a footnote of sort so that younger readers wouldn't be completely left out. Those objections aside, this is a worthy buy. s

I had stopped buying comics when I discovered Earth X #0. It looked like the nifty Marvels, which I had wanted but not badly enough to purchase. But I wasn't sure I wanted to buy it until I had read some others, and by then it was too late to find back issues. Eventually I found and bought the paperback.The same happened with Universe X (though I'm still trying to find the second volume--I don't know why the first one wasn't listed as such here). Both X-series take a long hard look at the basic assumptions that underlie the tales of favorite comic heroes and villians. The origin of their abilities, yes, but more importantly, why they should take on the roles they do. Though I have to admit I've read too many conspiracy stories to look kindly on them, the notion that the superpowered denizens of Marvel's Earth have been in the dark all along somehow works well.Unfortunately, the quality of the art in Universe X is uneven and lacks the consistent darkness that made Earth X feel as gritty as it did (and actually made me notice artwork quality for practically the first time). With the exception of the Spidey sideline, where the four-color art served an obvious purpose, I'd have preferred that the same artists have done this series in the same manner as Earth X.

Universe X is the sequel to Earth X, and the middle section of a huge trilogy. It continues the basic plot threads from the previous series- In the Marvel Universe of the future, many of the heroes we know are dead, many more are changed beyond recognition, the population of the Earth has been mutated by the Terrigen Mists of The Inhumans, and The Celestial Plot has been foiled.... This chapter starts with Reed Richards (Of the Fantastic Four) trying to keep the hordes of Mutated Humanity from dousing his "Human Torches", Giant pyres that will reverse the effects of the Terrigen Mists....Seems that most of the world doesn't WANT to be normal again. From there the story becomes positively byzantine, and I expect readers who aren't well-versed in the particulars of such obscure characters as The Living Mummy, The Micronauts, Captain Universe, etc., will feel totally lost. I, on the other hand, have been a comic-book geek for my entire life, so this was like a trip down memory lane, revisiting characters I haven't seen in ages. (It's nice to know that Alex Ross and Jim Krueger, the creative forces of the "X" books, are apparently bigger geeks than me! Who else would wonder why the omniscient Captain Marvel didn't forsee the cancer that killed him?) As dense as the book sometimes is, it's worth buying. Especially good is the Captain America chapter, as Cap struggles to protect the child-incarnation of Mar-Vell. A very moving story that captures, maybe better than any other story, the essence of the Cap character. I was truly touched. The art varies throughout the book, and sometimes it's hard to tell who's who. The art serves it's purpose, and it's easier to follow than the art in Earth X, but I still wasn't too impressed. The art in the Fantastic Four, Spidey, and Cap chapters are vast improvements over the rest of the book. Longtime Marvel readers should be impressed.

I felt moved to write this review after seeing a negative review about this book and hearing my local comic book propietor complain about this series as a "money-making scheme". Okay, I can't say much there because that is one thing that I do agree on, the comics and this trade paperback are woefully overpriced. Especially when you consider that this is only half of the Universe X series and you can expect to spend $50 for the entire collection. That having been said, I absolutely LOVE this series. I have read it so far in trade form and find that I cannot put the books down. I think it is fascinating to see how the characters I was so enthralled with growing up would fare in a possible abyssmal future. I believe the authors have done an amazing job of weaving the origin stories and practically all of the major events in these characters' evolution into a complex story in which each of these events serves a cosmic, karmic purpose. It is obvious that they did their homework. I admit that this volume is somewhat confusing but it makes more sense as it goes along which I believe makes it challenging rather than frustrating. Also, I found the three "one-shots" in this volume to be spectacular. The Spiderman one, "Spidey" was the best written comic I have read in a long time and reminded me why Spiderman is so appealing and why I still feel as affected by that character as I did when I was 5 and 15 years old (and now, for that matter). Obviously, I am with this series for the long haul. I look forward to the next volume. My advice: don't believe the (negative) hype!